Today Lenovo announced a new ruggedized ThinkPad notebook aimed at education use. The new product is called the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook. Lenovo says that the machine is a fast booting and highly customizable ThinkPad built with rugged features designed specifically to survive the daily rigors of K-12 education.

The new ThinkPad promises simple software and security management for school administrators and promises to provide students and teachers with quick access to thousands of apps and educational resources. The X131e features a rubber bumper around the top cover and stronger corners to protect the system in the event of a drop. The notebook also has strengthened hinges and hinge brackets designed to last for more than 50,000 open and close cycles.

The machine has an 11.6-inch screen and uses an unidentified Intel processor. It features HDMI and VGA outputs and has integrated Wi-Fi. The screen has a resolution of 1366 x 768 and is LED backlit with an antiglare covering. The X131e also features three USB ports and weighs less than 4 pounds. Lenovo promises that the machine will last for an entire school day on a single battery charge.

The X131e is also customizable to meet the schools needs including custom colors, asset tagging services, and school logo etching for the cover.

The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook will be available starting February 26 via special bid for educational institutions.

Losing wifi connection is a big issue, as is 100% coverage for sprawling schools.

quote: Do you remember the time when there were computer clients, and all programs ran off the main server...

Yes, I do remember that and you might note how we don't do that anymore. You are trusting 100% of your data to Google and constantly having a wireless connection. P.S. Hard drives are dirt cheap, even SSD's.

The Apple (or any brand) bluetooth keyboard negates the whole typing argument. If you want to use the thin BT keyboard, pull it out of your bag, otherwise, simply use it as a tablet.

quote: Try installing any site-license software on an IPAD....You can't do it because each user has to "register" and use Itunes to load any apps.

It's called security. If you were on the developer side you would be heralding Apple for their commitment to fighting piracy.

Google sell their products at Cost and Samsung create all the components in their tablets, meaning they cost less to create.

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